Sunday, February 28, 2010

I'm going to try to write down in a few posts what has happened in my life since January 12, 2010. Here goes!

On January 12, I was at a meeting for teachers about reading strategies. I had my phone on vibrate but moved early in the meeting as I couldn't see. I left my purse and coat in the chair so I never heard the vibrate go off-it's pretty loud for something that's supposed to be silent:) The meeting was wrapping up about 6:00 pm and as I went to get my stuff, a teacher said that somebody must need to get a hold of me because my phone had gone off over and over again. I thought that was kind of weird, I don't usually get too many phone calls. So I checked my messages and got this text:

Know you are heartsick and worried frantic about Haiti tragedy. Thinking of you and praying for Elliott's safety.

Then my voicemail said something very similar from another dear friend. I had NO IDEA what these messages were referencing as I had gone right from school to the meeting-no outside contact. I borrowed a computer and went online and saw all the headlines.

I honestly can say I have never been so scared in my entire life. Not even when the little plane we were in in the 80's had its landing gear frozen in the up position and the pilot was jerking the plane up and down to try to shake the gear loose. As we flew over and past three airports. That was bad but this was a hundred times worse. It was terror I was feeling and terror is blinding, consuming, adrenaline pumping, mind-numbing horror. All I could do was picture my baby in a pile of rubbish. And I was 3,000 miles away.